Step into a world where color brings power and yellow is banned. Ashley Bustamante's Color Theory trilogy is an immersive, futuristic world set on the island of Magus. Many years ago, explorers arrived on the island and gained new powers—to move and shape objects around them, affect the human body, or effect the mind of humans and animals. But after years of living in harmony, the Canary War occured, and the color yellow, along with those who used yellow magic, was exterminated. Now, anything yellow is destroyed, and yellow magic users are all gone, except for the children unfortunate enough to be born with that type of magic.
This is the world Ava Locke lives in, and she's never questioned whether the treatment of yellow magic users is correct. In her final year of schooling at the most prestigious academy for magic users, Ava is on track to join the Benefactors, a group of magic users dedicated to keeping the population safe from those with yellow magic. She's set to follow in the footsteps of her mentor and guardian, who took her in when her parents were killed during the Canary War, and is determined that nothing will derail her plans.
Until she meets Elm Ridley, a yellow magic user. He turns her tidy world upside-down and makes her question everything she's been taught. As she forms an uneasy friendship with him, she wrestles with the question: is this real, or has she fallen victim to the powers of a notorious yellow magic user? Her answer sets the course for the rest of her life, impacting not only her friends, but the entire island of Magus as well.
In the Color Theory trilogy, Bustamante has brought a vivid world to life with radiant characters and an intriguing, chromatic magic system. Ava's singleminded drive to succeed is one that resonates with many teens and young adults, and her perseverance in discovering the answers to her questions is admirable. Her fiery determination to do what's right is inspiring, as well as her willingness to question the status quo that accepts and lauds the massacre of one group of people, even when it puts her in danger.
The cast of characters who join Ava on her journey, both good and bad, are diverse and increase the richness of the story. Friendships strengthen to familial-like bonds as the characters pursue truth and justice. With themes of hope, sacrifice, and enduring love, the Color Theory trilogy takes readers on a journey that challenges them to stand up to the accepted evils in their lives and fight for what is right, even when the battle appears to be lost before it's started.
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